


Revival

by st_mick



Series: Niffler [28]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Torchwood
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Ianto Lives!, Introspection, Lots of cuddles, M/M, Owen sticks his foot in it, Working things out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 00:34:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19983124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/st_mick/pseuds/st_mick
Summary: It takes a while this time, but Ianto revives, and he's finally beginning to heal.  His defenses are gone, so he is off-balance and clings to Jack for reassurance.  Jack is only too happy to have the opportunity to comfort and reassure Ianto, and they make some headway.  That is, until Owen opens his big mouth...





	Revival

The Doctor told them that it might take a while for Ianto to revive, so Jack did what he could to keep himself busy, hoping he could rely on their bond to alert him when Ianto was ready to return. Deciding there were a good number of things he could do to make things up to Ianto, he started by catching up his paperwork. He would never admit such a thing to Ianto, but he found that the younger man was indeed correct: paperwork didn’t take very long at all, once he stopped arsing around and just got on with it.

When he was done, he sought out the Doctor, who was still pinging off the walls of the TARDIS, trying to work off the effects of the rejuvenating potion that Draco had given him. Jack was beginning to suspect that Draco regularly dosed the children of people who annoyed him, and then left them to deal with the aftermath.

He watched the Doctor work on repairs for some short while before asking a favor. They spent a good deal of time discussing Jack’s reasons and motivations for the request, and the Doctor found he admired Jack’s initiative. He frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m not sure now is the best time, though. You sure you should leave him, right now?”

“I won’t go until he’s recovered,” Jack assured him. “And you have to promise me that you can get me right back. It can’t be years or months, or even weeks, or that would defeat the whole purpose.”

“Why not bring him along?” the Doctor asked. He was certain the wizard would be a valuable addition to the TARDIS. “I think it would appeal to his sense of adventure.”

“I think he would enjoy it, but he’s going to need time to recover,” Jack said thoughtfully.

“His healing factor is different from yours, then?”

“He heals more quickly than a normal human, but not as quickly as me. I think this will take some time, though.”

“Yes. It was an incredibly difficult ordeal.” He hesitated before adding, “Jack, when he revives, all of his defenses will be gone, and it will take time for him to rebuild them. Might help to get someone who is good with Occlumency to help him.”

“His grandfather will be happy for the opportunity,” Jack said. It was getting more difficult to keep Theodophilus away, though Jack was adamant that the elderly wizard not see his grandson dead. But he knew well the wear of waiting, and it would be unkind to keep him away, once Ianto revived.

The Doctor nodded. “And he will be particularly… vulnerable.”

“How do you mean?”

“With his defenses down, and being raw from fighting the virus, he’ll not have the ability to put on a brave face. He’ll be unable to control or hide his emotions. I don’t think you’re used to seeing him needy or fearful, so it might be unsettling.”

“I understand,” Jack nodded soberly, then sighed. “I hurt him so badly, Doctor. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, while he’s been out. And I think it’s because after all this time, I’ve forgotten where I came from.”

The Doctor nodded, not really surprised that Jack had circled back to his request. “I’ll take you, of course. But you’ll have to speak with _her_ about getting you back on time.”

“Where are you going?” Owen asked, looking tired and cross. Jack had left the TARDIS door open, and Owen had come in to let them know that the latest scans showed very few changes. “You can’t actually be considering leaving Ianto, right now.”

“Of course not,” Jack quickly replied before Owen could start winding up. “I won’t go until he’s recovered, and I won’t be gone long.”

Owen shook his head. “I think it would go a long way, Jack, if you stuck around for his convalescence. Or maybe more importantly, it could do even more damage, if you bailed on him during it.”

“I won’t do anything without speaking to him, first. All right?” Jack knew he shouldn’t blame anyone for thinking he wouldn’t take care of Ianto, after he’d treated his lover so badly. “I have every intention of making him thoroughly sick of me, hovering and looking after him.”

Owen gave him a long, suspicious look. “Yeah, all right then.” He looked around. “Nice space you’ve got, here. Roomier than it looks.”

The Doctor grinned.

“Any news?” Jack asked. He assumed not, but needed to ask. He’d been paying close attention to the bond, trying to discern any change, but it was still… vacant. It felt desolate and lonely, and it unsettled him. He checked his watch. It had been a bit more than thirty-four hours, now. He tried to consider it a good sign, since reviving quickly had been so disastrous, before.

“Some visible healing, from the chemical burns. No other noticeable changes, but I’m not going to be able to get a decent internal scan until he revives.” He shrugged. “Still, more progress than we’ve seen, so far.”

Jack nodded thoughtfully. He didn’t enjoy the waiting, but he found hope in every hint of progress. He followed Owen out of the TARDIS and down to the med-bay. He stood for some minutes stroking Ianto’s too-short hair, adjusting the blanket draped over his body, watching him for some small sign of life. He found that he hated this, and wondered how Ianto put up with it.

In the next moment, he felt the smallest tremor along the bond. Less than a breath, lighter than a whisper. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he could tell it would be a while longer, though he was extremely grateful for this small sign.

Jack tried to focus on work, but the next two hours presented more of the soft fluttering along their bond. It was distracting, though not in a bad way. There were moments where it was so unutterably beautiful that all Jack could do was close his eyes and pour love along the bond in response. The others gave up on getting anything useful from him, and finally Toshiko snapped.

“Jack, just go. If you’re feeling this much activity, it could be any time, now. And I know you want to be there, when he comes to.”

Jack nodded and escaped to the med-bay, where he stripped and climbed into the bed with Ianto. The younger man was cold and blue and still, but Jack pulled him into his arms and focused on making the bond as warm and welcoming as he could. Another hour passed, and the fluttering feeling continued, and then – quite unexpectedly, as there had been no discernable change in the frequency or intensity of the sensation – Ianto’s body _pulsed_.

To Jack, it was an incredible feeling – as though the young wizard’s entire body experienced or expressed a single heartbeat. In the next instant, the heartrate monitor began sounding off, and Ianto drew in a slow, deep breath.

It was a small moment of grace, those first few heartbeats, and that first breath, for there was no pain or discomfort. But mid-way through the second inhalation, Ianto’s breath caught as his awareness finally cottoned on to all of the pain and anguish that had been so briefly suspended. He bridled in Jack’s arms, crying out in pain.

“Ianto, you’re all right. I’ve got you, Love.” Jack was reminded of the Doctor’s warning – that now they would see all of Ianto’s distress, unvarnished. Because of his experiences, the younger man had become adept at hiding all signs of injury and upset. Jack found that he dreaded seeing just how much Ianto had been hiding, by comparison.

“C’mon, Wizard Boy,” Owen was there with the inhaler. “Let’s get this in you, then you can give me a number.” He walked Ianto through several puffs of the inhaler, then Ianto managed to grit out the number eight.

Once the pain medication had been administered, Ianto began to relax in Jack’s arms. “Jack,” he whispered, his voice still grating from the damage that had been done.

“I’m here, Love,” Jack replied, holding Ianto closer.

To his surprise, Ianto began shaking. He wrapped himself around Jack and held on for dear life. _Please don’t leave me. I love you. Please stay. Please, Jack. Don’t leave me._

Jack had a brief moment of sympathy for the victims of boa constrictors before realizing that the Doctor had been right, but the pain Ianto was unable to hide was more emotional than physical. He felt more than heard Ianto weeping, a litany of pleas being repeated in his mind simply because Ianto’s voice was too broken for the words to be uttered aloud.

_I’m not going anywhere, Kitten. I love you, and I’ll be here for you as long as you’ll have me._

Ianto only wept harder. Jack looked at Owen, who was frowning. “Sedative?” he asked.

Jack shook his head. “Give me a couple of minutes,” he whispered.

_You must think I’m so pathetic, but I can’t do this, Jack. I can’t start over. Not again. Please don’t go. I love you. I wish that were enough. Please, tell me what to do. Please stay._

“Ianto,” Jack spoke softly, knowing he needed to soothe his tender, vulnerable wizard. “Ianto, tell me if you can hear me.”

 _Jack…_ Ianto pulled him even closer, nodding.

_Ianto, I need for you to listen very carefully to me, right now. Can you do that?_

Ianto gave another nod, and another sob escaped.

_My Love, I am right here with you. I’m not going anywhere. I love you, and I’m sorry, but you’re stuck with me, now._

In the next moment, Jack’s body was wracked by the silent sobs of his lover. His heart ached for the pain he had caused, but in that moment he was more concerned with the physical pain the weeping would undoubtedly cause. “Shh, Love,” he tried to soothe.

_I thought I’d lost you, Jack. You said…_

Jack spent the next few hours reassuring Ianto, talking through everything that had happened between them. Unsurprisingly, battling the virus had scrambled Ianto’s memory, a bit. He remembered what had happened, but details he had acquired from his _Legilimens_ spell had deserted him. Now, he was once again in the position of having been given too much pain medication to be able to access his magic, and it was down to Jack to explain everything, the long way.

He did not begrudge Ianto this. He felt he owed every explanation and reassurance that could be given. After all, it was he who had reduced his strong, loving, amazing wizard to begging. It shamed him deeply to have so humbled and humiliated the best man he knew.

He knew that many would mark it down as a sign of weakness, the begging. But he saw it for what it truly was: a sign of how weary Ianto was, in this moment. Jack also flattered himself that it was a mark of how deeply Ianto loved him, but he knew that Ianto was strong enough that he would be fine, if they went their separate ways. Ianto had already proved that steel, when he had walked away from everything he had lost at Canary Wharf with his sanity and humanity intact. It wasn’t that he was incapable of beginning again; he just didn’t want to… 

Jack continually marveled that losing Lisa, losing all that he had lost, had not hardened Ianto. Instead, he had taken all that Lisa had taught him and honored her by applying it to his next relationship.

Ianto had grown up in a dysfunctional family that was, at its best, neglectful, and at its worst, abusive. Early on, Jack had wondered where Ianto had learned how to be in a loving, healthy relationship, because the younger man just always seemed to know the right thing to do. He had eventually prised the information from Ianto, and in a moment of quiet reverence, he told Jack that Lisa had taught him.

It had taken years. Ianto had met Lisa the first day he had reported to Torchwood One for duty. He was an angry, twenty year-old Auror, exiled from the wizarding world (to his mind), and she was a sparkling, twenty-five year-old human resources specialist who knew what treasure looked like, even when hidden beneath a patina of snark, defiance, and extreme efficiency. 

Lisa had been raised in that rarest of things, a healthy, happy family. Her parents had lived as the very best example of a loving, respectful couple, teaching her everything she needed to know before dying tragically in a car crash the year after she graduated university with a degree in relational psychology.

As it turned out, she was, quite literally, an expert on healthy relationships. Jack had chuckled as Ianto related to him how she had, essentially, trained him to be something of an expert, himself. Ianto had wanted badly enough to learn a better way (and perhaps to thoroughly reject his own upbringing in a tangible way) that he had brought Luna in to help him make an unbreakable vow.

Jack had never known safe words to be employed in such a way. Ianto’s vow had been to bring himself to heel if ever Lisa uttered that word. She had, in turn, vowed never to abuse the word. Ianto declared tearfully that she had kept her vow, not even using it when the pain of the conversion became overwhelming. It had not even occurred to her to use it, then.

Whenever the word was used, they would step out of whatever drama they had found themselves in, and Lisa would talk things through with Ianto, teaching him a healthy way to deal with the situation rather than allowing him to go for the habitual, knee-jerk angry or avoidant response that he had learned from his own parents.

It was a remarkable thing, and Jack knew he had benefited from it. He often felt guilty for it, but there were few times that he observed Ianto having a healthy reaction that he did not send a prayer of thanks to Lisa’s beautiful soul.

Ianto hadn’t told Jack the word; he had learned the hard way that it still had power over him, even though the vow had dissolved upon her death. Jack hoped that Ianto would one day trust him with this, that they might use it in a similar fashion. But that was a future ambition; they had to work things out in the present, first.

It took some hours, but Jack was, at length, able to convince Ianto of his love, his sincerity, and his regret. He knew this was partially down to Ianto’s own logic. Ianto knew he would never have reopened to the bond unless Jack had convinced him, and he had, in turn, forgiven Jack.

Jack’s struggle now was that while it had taken mere words to shake the very foundations of their relationship, it would take so much more than words to shore them back up, again. Hence his plan, and the favor he had asked of the Doctor. But for now, it was too soon to explain any of that to Ianto. He needed to reassure him, first, so he would be in a place where he would not panic when Jack spoke of it.

He was rather pleased with this first effort. Speaking was too painful for Ianto, but thanks to their bond, they were able to communicate telepathically at great length without overtaxing him. Even so, it took several hours to talk things through and to reassure Ianto enough that he was able to find a degree of peace, and loosen his hold on Jack. 

By the time the air was cleared, Ianto’s energy was flagging, though he was still clinging, a bit. Really, it had been a bit much to speak for so long, so soon after he revived, but given his panic, there had been little choice. Jack called Owen back to them and he scanned Ianto before asking about his pain level and administering both a painkiller and a sedative.

As Ianto succumbed to sleep, Jack looked at Owen. “Well?”

Owen nodded. “He is healing at his normal pace. Given the extent of the damage, I think his eyes, throat and vocal chords, and lungs will take the longest. But the burns are all but healed, and a good deal of the internal damage is being repaired.”

“Brain scan?”

“Still some inflammation, but returning to normal. Well. Normal, for him.”

“He’s starting to shake,” Jack frowned, looking at Ianto. He was shivering.

Owen nodded. “Yeah, apparently the goop stuff cools the burns. If he’s starting to get cold, that means the burns are almost healed. Draco said we can get rid of the goop a few hours after the shivering starts.”

“In the meantime, we just let him be cold?” Jack frowned again.

“Anyone free to cuddle a cold Niffler?” Owen called out. “Just for a couple of hours, mind.”

“Yeah, I’ll come help,” Mickey came down the steps a few minutes later. “I’m the only one here, though. The others are due in at eight.”

“All right, c’mon down,” Owen replied. “I’ll keep an ear out for rift alerts.”

***

Draco had conjured an emergency autopsy suite downstairs next to the morgue cooler where Clem and the children had been stored. As children’s autopsies were always particularly difficult, Jack had instructed his medic to have either Martha or Draco assist with them, and both colleagues had kindly agreed to support Owen in this. Even Tom had assisted, when available.

So in the three days since the 4-5-6 had been defeated, when he wasn’t watching over Ianto, Owen was performing autopsies. He had managed four each day, and had finished the last child’s autopsy just before Ianto revived.

When Mickey joined Jack and Ianto, Owen had checked Tosh’s rift monitor program and saw that very little activity was anticipated for the rest of the night. He decided to pass the time by doing Clem’s autopsy. Once he was done, he returned to the main level of the hub to see that Tosh and Donna had arrived. 

Owen checked Ianto and set out a syringe of painkiller for Jack to administer if it was needed while Owen grabbed some kip.

***

Ianto woke shortly after Owen left them. Jack gave him the painkiller and they spoke for a short time while waiting for it to take effect. Jack had always found it endearing that Ianto rarely complained about anything, with the notable exception of being cold. Ianto could endure curses and Weevil bites and falling off of brooms, but he reverted to a helpless four year-old when he could not keep warm. Jack knew better than to ever ( _ever_ ) utter the word “cute”, but it did tend to secretly tickle him. Particularly since he so enjoyed warming his wizard up, again.

This wasn’t cute. Ianto was shivering and clearly uncomfortable, but it was another one of Ianto’s tells that the worse he felt, the less he complained. He was utterly silent as his teeth chattered and he tried to huddle closer to Jack.

Jack, being something of a human furnace, turned Ianto so he was the middle spoon, then he pulled a sleeping Mickey close, making the latter the little spoon. Not allowing a bit of space between them, he pulled a few additional blankets over them and sent as much warmth and comfort and love along their bond as he could manage. Ianto did not stop shivering, but his teeth stopped chattering as sleep claimed him, once more.

***

Several hours later, Ianto woke slowly. He was still shivering with cold, and yet somehow felt warm and comfortable. He drew in a deep breath, but it caught uncomfortably in his chest. Time for another puff of lung potion from the inhaler, then. Jack had given him a couple of puffs earlier, so he figured he must have slept for a few hours, at least. That was a nice thought. 

Even nicer would be more sleep, but he was hurting a bit too much. It was better than it had been, but still too much to allow him to return to sleep. He attempted another breath and tried to take in his surroundings. Oddly, not being able to see had not been as frightening as everything else. Or perhaps he’d just hit his limit, with everything else.

He could feel heat radiating all around him. The bloody goop was getting on his nerves, but he was grateful for the relief it had provided. Given how cold he was at the moment, perhaps it had served its usefulness, though. That would be a relief; not feeling slimy. Donna had called him a water wiggler. 

He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that.

So. Surroundings. The blazing heat behind him could only be Jack. The softer heat in front of him must be… the biting scent of the goop was all he could smell, and it kept him from identifying anyone by their perfume or deodorant. Larger person, so not Toshiko, and definitely not Owen. He knew that moving would only cause the pain to expand, so he tried to puzzle out who his little spoon was by what he could tell at the moment, without moving.

Tall. So either Mickey, Tom, or Donna. There was no hair up his nose, so that ruled out Donna. He assumed Tom would not have stayed overnight without Martha, and… well, Tom didn’t have the arse that was currently pressed against him.

Mickey, then.

But the line of thought had him mildly curious. Had he actually been checking out Tom’s and Mickey’s arses, that he had come to this conclusion? After careful consideration, he decided he was merely observant, because he felt zero attraction for either man.

He had maintained since he had first started a dalliance with Jack that he wasn’t attracted to men, though he was drawn to Jack more strongly than he had ever been drawn to anyone else (and everyone else had always been women).

Jack had always laughed about twenty-first century humans and their labels. So Ianto had not shared with him the label he had come across that seemed to explain the confusing bout of homosexuality he seemed to have come down with, practically the moment he’d met Jack. Ianto did not require labels, but as an archivist, he appreciated their usefulness, nonetheless. There was a certain comfort in knowing why one day he had begun acting in a way that was completely contrary to how he had behaved all of his post-adolescent life.

He had come across the term demisexual – sexually attracted to someone based on a strong emotional connection, and he felt that went a long way towards explaining his newfound bisexuality. It would certainly explain his attraction to Jack. And it would also explain why he had not been the typical horndog teenager, growing up. He had not lusted after girls in general, though he had quite an… _appetite_ for the girls he had fallen for. 

Addie…

He sighed at the thought of his first love. They had broken up a few weeks before Dumbledore died. Then the campaign had begun against muggle-borns, that summer. Ianto would have tried to find a safe place for her, but she went on the run before he could contact her. She had succumbed to pneumonia due to exposure to the elements. They had heard her listed among the lost on one of Lee Jordan’s pirate radio broadcasts.

The anger and helplessness had turned Ianto reckless and ruthless as they made sorties into the castle proper to wage war on the Death Eaters there. But his friends had been his consolation, and he realized that he could not put them at risk because of his anger, however justified. They had all lost so many, after all. After a close call, he managed to get hold of himself so the team could function properly. 

Then there had been Astrid, when he first became an Auror. A fellow recruit, she had been a mirror for him – just as angry, just as passionate, just as self-destructive. Their explosive relationship had ended long before their first year of training was done. Ianto had thrown himself into the process of becoming an animagus, in the wake of the breakup. Last he’d heard, she had married an American wizard and was an Auror with the MACUSA.

And Lisa… He wasn’t sure he’d ever really get over her, and he was okay with that. She had been so intelligent, so beautiful, so kind and gentle. It had been literally incomprehensible to him when she lost the battle with the monster inside her and turned on him. Then shock and denial had made things so much worse…

He felt a huff at the back of his neck. _You are thinking very loudly._

_Jack…_ He gave out a sob.

In the next moment, Jack’s hand found his and he was being gently pulled even closer to Jack’s body. He leaned into the warmth, wishing once again that the goop was gone. He felt Jack’s cheek against his, skin against skin as Jack kissed his temple. _Shh. It’s all right. I’m here, Love._

 _Jack…_ Ianto felt so muddled, so sad, so… afraid. He wanted to turn over and wrap himself around Jack again, but he was too tired and weak. All he could do was lean into his lover and grasp his hand more firmly.

Jack felt Ianto’s fear and sadness. The sadness had come first, almost from the moment Ianto woke. Jack could not discern his lover’s thoughts, but with his defenses down Ianto was practically broadcasting his feelings. Jack poured love and comfort along the bond, hoping to soothe and reassure the younger man.

The comfort Jack offered helped Ianto to regain his equilibrium. _I’m such a mess. I’m sorry._

Jack kissed him behind the ear, feeling a stronger shiver that made him smile. _You’ve been through the wringer, Love. Of course you’re feeling vulnerable._

Ianto shook his head. _This is different, Jack. I can’t explain it. I’ve felt so many variations of fear, before today I would have told you I knew them all. But this… I feel frightened. Like a child. It’s such a basic and fundamental reaction that I feel it in my marrow. In my very cells._

Jack nodded. _I know. Is it…_ he hesitated. _Is it to do with what you felt, when you died?_ He barely suppressed a shudder. Something slithered in the darkness, and it was frightening at the most basic level of one’s humanity in just the way Ianto described.

Ianto shook his head. _I know what that is, in the darkness. It’s meant to distract people from reaching the light._

 _What?_ Jack startled.

_I think maybe people who die, who aren’t dead for good, get a stronger sense of it, but it’s not real._

This was news to Jack. It was why some small part of him was glad he came back every time. Because eternity running from whatever was waiting in the darkness scared the living hell out of him.

Ianto gave his hand a squeeze. _You never die for good. It makes a sorry sort of sense that you don’t get to see the final destination, as it were. You only see the… waiting room. People who think they don’t deserve the light get to punish themselves for a bit before they finally move on._

Jack felt a bit dizzy. _And how do you know this?_

Ianto shrugged a shoulder. _The year._ He shuddered. _Someday, when I haven’t just come back from the dead after a series of harrowing ordeals, maybe you can get me drunk enough to tell you about it._

Jack nodded. _Fair enough. But if it’s not that, then what is it?_ He had a thought. _Is it because your shielding is gone?_

Ianto nodded. _That’s part of it._

_I’ll call Theodophilus in a while. He can help you rebuild your defenses._

Ianto nodded again.

Jack frowned. _What’s the rest of it?_

Ianto curled in on himself very slightly. Just enough for Jack to notice. It told Jack that Ianto didn’t want to answer his question. Which told him it was to do with how he had behaved. _What can I do?_

 _It’s not your fault, Jack._ At Jack’s snort of disagreement, Ianto squeezed his hand. _It’s the virus, Jack. The virus did this. You know that I would have argued with you – and fought for you – if I had been myself._

Jack chuckled. Yes, Ianto would have fought, if the virus hadn’t convinced him that there was no point. Actually, Ianto was known to fight well after there was no more point in fighting, so the virus had even robbed him of that will to fight that made him so deliciously stubborn. Jack blamed the virus, but he also claimed responsibility for the words that gave the virus the opportunity, in the first place.

_Ianto, I am going to make this right. You just need to heal. Your taid and I can help you to rebuild your defenses. And once you’re back on your feet, I’m going to tell you what else I’m going to do to make this up to you._

Ianto sighed. _I love you, Jack._

Jack smiled at the weak deflection. Ianto didn’t want to talk about whose fault it was, anymore. He probably just wanted to go back to sleep. _I love you too, Kitten._

Ianto snorted, and Jack felt him tense, just the slightest bit. “You need to tell me when you need something for the pain, Love,” he said quietly, reaching for the inhaler.

“Wasn’t sure if it was time, yet,” Ianto rasped.

Once Ianto was dosed, and Jack was putting the inhaler back on the table beside the bed, Toshiko came down the stairs. “Jack,” she said quietly, “Alice is on the phone. Apparently, Theodophilus is not going to wait much longer.”

Jack sighed. It wasn’t surprising. Actually, the wizard had been very patient. He pulled back the covers, but Ianto flailed. _Jack?_

Jack pulled Ianto close and kissed his cheek. “I need to let Theodophilus know how you’re doing, Love. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Ianto managed to hold back the sob that had risen in his chest. He didn’t want Jack to leave him. But he took a breath and squeezed the older man’s hand before releasing him. Jack kissed him again and got out of bed, dressing quickly and taking the stairs two at a time.

Ianto shivered and leaned closer to Mickey, who grumbled as he woke. In the next moment, Ianto heard Draco talking to Owen as the latter took his vitals and asked for a number. Ianto gave him an answer, but managed to croak, “A seven, but can you just give me enough to take the edge off? I’d really like a shower.”

He could practically hear Owen and Draco looking at one other. He huffed. “Please? I’m freezing and that’ll be the easiest way to clean the goop off of me.”

The short conversation had made him desperately tired, so he decided to keep quiet as the healer and doctor debated. They were both concerned about how weak Ianto was, but Draco said there was a spell that could keep the patient on his feet while they hosed him down.

Once it was decided, Owen gave him an injection and then they helped Ianto sit up, very slowly. It seemed to take ages for him to get his equilibrium, but once he did, they helped him to stand and Draco apparated them to the locker room. Between them, they managed to keep him from falling as his knees buckled when they arrived. Owen turned off all but one of the lights before removing the sleep mask. The light still hurt, but it was not unbearable.

Soon Draco removed the goop and they had him under the delicious spray of warm water. Ianto reached out and braced his arms against the wall, bowing his head and allowing the water to spray down his back. It was, quite possibly, the best shower he had ever had. He was finally _warm_.

Between them, Draco and Owen got him cleaned up. The spell came in handy, as Ianto was far too weak to stand on his own for that long. Once they had him dry and dressed in a pair of pyjama bottoms and a dressing gown, they helped him over to the sink, where he brushed his teeth. 

Twice.

Owen only bitched a little bit when he was asked to put more toothpaste on the toothbrush. Ianto was actually managing very well, sightless, but both of his friends knew he hated feeling so helpless.

Once Draco took them back to the med-bay, he changed the bedding and linens before he and Owen helped Ianto off with the dressing gown and sat him back on the bed. “All right, Wizard Boy,” Owen said. “Let’s get you medicated. Once you sleep, we’ll try to feed you something. Looks like you’re finally healed enough that your body can handle more than IV nutrients.” He reached for a syringe as he continued to talk. “We need to get you healed up. The Doctor is getting antsy, and he’s not going to wait but so long, for Jack.”

***

**Author's Note:**

> Ianto's finally beginning to recover! Yay! I really hope that Jack's plan is up to snuff. That'll be outlined in the next section. There will likely be one more, after that. Still need to get Ianto to 'fess up as to what else he stole from the Ministry during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, because it ties in to the storyline that's trying to eat my brain.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! Lots of conversations in the next couple of sections as Ianto recovers. 
> 
> If you're so inclined, please like and comment - love the feedback! Thanks for reading!


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